Gajeel x Levy Fanfic Story
by xl Bubblez lx
Summary: This is my first time writing ANYTHING, so if there are mistakes, feel free to correct me gently. I have no idea where this story is going as I'm pulling out ideas as I go... But I want there to be pirates. Also, I've only watched up to the S-Class trials (haven't read the manga), so if this seems REALLY behind... Sorry. Updating this story is a miracle - thanks for being patient!
1. Chapter 1

_Hello, Hi, I am the author, this is just a little note. If you didn't read my summary, this is my first time writing, like anything at all. Especially fanfic. I don't know if I'm good or not, but suggestions and (gentle please lol) critique are always welcome. Right now, I only have 3 chapters uploaded and so far that's what I've written, but I was thinking about including a lemon later, as the relationship develops on, but right now, I'm not even at chapter 4 as I write this, and nothing interesting has happened so yeah. It used to have a rated M thing in case of lemon, but right now you guys are safe so I changed it to T, and I'll probably go ahead and write a warning if the lemon chapter ever comes. I'm also **reaaallly nervous** posting this, but okay. So, yes, thank you so much for reading this and reading my story in general and have a good day. (-:_

Chapter 1

It was another normal day at the Fairy Tail guild. A stranger upon arriving would have seen a rowdy bunch of people, fighting and drinking, yelling and playing games. But to those who knew the guild, all they saw was their family, laughing and remaining ever vigilant and happy. Some of the members were different than the most, preferring their solitude to the company of a lot of the other members; others liked the opposite. The whole guild was full of ever unique mages and wizards, all characteristic of themselves.

Levy McGarden, the solid script mage with blue hair flowing down to her shoulders messily held up by her yellow-orange bandana, had been chatting with one of her best friends Lucy Heartfilia, the celestial spirit mage, during the warm summer day. Her usual wear of her orange halter dress had been changed to a normal white spaghetti-strapped tank top, and her most comfortable pair of capris, rolled up a little above her knees. Lucy, dressed in a pink blouse and black skater skirt, had just been telling Levy about the mission she, Natsu Dragneel, the fire mage and Happy an Exceed had returned from.

"Like, why would an owner of a 7 million Jewel home have any cause to steal and sell the family heirloom of his arch-enemy, worth barely 100 jewel… Hmm?"

Lucy had stopped twirling one of her pigtails lazily to glance over at Levy, finding that she had her chin rested in her hand, with her elbow leaning on the table, staring with a blank expression toward the guild entrance.

"Hey… Levy", Lucy poked her shoulder, "Levy, have you been listening?", Lucy inquired.

Levy suddenly sat up straight and looked at Lucy sheepishly.

"Sorry Luce, my minds been on this book I've been reading. It's a really fascinating murder-mystery book about a whacky yet brilliant detective and his colleague who seem to solve every case. I'm on the third book in the really amazing series, and - hey!"Levy mocked offense at Lucy who had been imitating Levy's pose of staring off into space while she talked about her book.

Lucy giggled back and said, "Okay, okay, we'll catch up later, go finish your book! And don't spoil anything in it, because I'm gonna need to borrow it from you when you're done!" Lucy winked.

Levy nodded, and waved goodbye to Lucy, making her way to Fairy Hills, her dorm. She passed a battle on-going between Gray Fullbuster, the ice mage, and his challenger Natsu. Both were yelling with pointed teeth and each had a fist raised, ready to throw a blow. Ignoring it, Levy walked out of the guild as the yelling increased and the sound of furniture cracking could be heard.

The warm summer air filled her lungs and she sighed contentedly. She folded her hands behind her back and strolled in the direction of Fairy Hills, enjoying the soft breeze that smelled of the ocean. Passing the local marketplace with shops set up by people living in the city of Magnolia, Levy smiled to herself, stalling to enjoy the nice weather that Fiore had presented today. As she walked by the blacksmith, Levy heard yelling and the soft pleading of another voice from inside the merchant's tent.

Sensing trouble, she quickly ran towards the tent, with her solid script pen out in hand ready to battle if it came to it. She was small, but she knew how to fight well enough to defend a citizen. When she lifted the flap of the tent and ran inside, she saw her guild member and former partner in the S-Class competition, the iron mage, Gajeel Redfox, standing with his arms crossed. He was staring daggers deep into the heart of the older, smaller man across from him with his hands up defending himself. Levy rationed that he was probably the owner of the pleading voice she had heard earlier. The small tent didn't have much to it, it was mainly where the blacksmith kept his tools and other paraphernalia. There was a small table with two stools sitting in what Levy assumed to be a place for making deals in one corner. There were a few shelves with random metal objects and tools that Levy knew were used to shape weapons and building materials, as she had read a book on blacksmithing a few months ago. The dark purple of the tent had dimmed the brightness of the sun outside to the point where she wouldn't have been able to read a book, yet could still make out her surroundings comfortably.

Gajeel, partially turned with his back to her, had a bag of money tied to his waist-band, and seemed to have not sensed her presence.

"What are you talking about 'The shipment's not in yet'! We made a bargain Smithy, I come in with the gold, you supply my metal. Every week, same day, unconditionally. Where's my shipment?" He growled the last part through clenched teeth, his red eyes probably flaring up with each syllable.

"I-I'm not sure yet, my reports tell me it's supposed to be here on t-time, but my men haven't seen the ship y-yet… Perhaps c-check in with me erm, say, ehm, t-tomorrow?" The old man had a stout sturdy body, good for carrying and working with heavy items every day, but he had nothing compared to the towering dragonslayer over him, sparking his nervousness.

Gajeel ran a hand through his spiky black hair in frustration. "I can't WAIT until _tomorrow_ because I'm out of my metal _today_." Levy could see the veins in his arms pop out in anger and decided she should intervene. Still holding her solid script pen, she walked toward the two saying, "Gajeel, what are you doing?"

Gajeel turned around raising his eyebrow at the small mage, then jerked his chin in the direction of the blacksmith saying, "Finishing up a deal with my pal Smithy, here.", He grumbled. Levy sighed and stepped in between the two, her back to Gajeel.

"Thank you for being patient with my friend here Sir, we'll return tomorrow to see if the shipment has arrived yet with the necessary pay. Please excuse us." She smiled nicely at the blacksmith and bowed a little before tugging on Gajeel's arm slightly indicating for him to follow her out of the tent.

"O-Okay, thank you…" The smith barely got out.

Outside the tent, Levy turned to Gajeel with her hands on her hips.

"You know, as a member of Fairy Tail, you can't go around intimidating all the townsfolk with your 'macho'", she said. "It's bad for the guild to look like we're bullies… And what's even the big deal about this smith's metal in the first place. There are obviously more blacksmith's around here." she curiously inquired. Gajeel stood across from her with his arms still crossed, looking off to the side as she scolded him lightly.

"Listen here Shrimp", he grumbled, "maybe you should mind your own business before you come into someone else's deal and decide to mess with it. And for your information, that guy's metal is the cheapest and fills me up the best compared to all the other flimsy pieces of tinfoil the rest of this town has to offer. I ain't gonna go spend my hard earned money on some nasty copper tasting crap that ain't even gonna last me a day. And now I'm gonna have to because you ended my bargain with that guy too early. I bet he's keepin' my metal in there all for his self…" Gajeel growled.

Levy, somewhat hurt that he didn't like her trying to help him, furrowed her brow and said, "Fine Gajeel, do as you wish, go check the shipment by yourself tomorrow for all I care. Sorry for butting in." She ran away from him and didn't stop until she reached the steps of Fairy Hills. Sighing, she turned around and faced the direction he was standing.

"Stupid", she mumbled, "Why can't he just be nice like all the others in the Guild…?."

She flashed back to when he literally decided for her that he would be her partner in the S-Class trials and how he had been there for her through everything, even when she ran from him. _Like I ran from him now_, she thought to herself sadly, and walked up the remaining steps inside. She made her way to her dorm and collapsed on her bed, completely forgetting about the wonderful murder-mystery laying next to her head on the pillow where she had left it this morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Levy woke up with a jolt. She hadn't realized she fell asleep. She rubbed her eyes thoroughly and yawned, peeking out the window to see the reddened, orange and yellow sky. _Sunset…_ she thought. _Wait! AH! I've been sleeping all day! _She ran to the window, bracing herself on the windowsill with her hands, and looking out in case her eyes had deceived her. Sure enough, the sun was setting right above the ocean, reflecting off the water, making it look like sparkled, intricate glass. Levy sighed and fell back onto her bed. _Great, _she thought, _I didn't even get to read my book. And now after sleeping all day, I'm going to be wide awake all night. _She pouted and made a little whine in the back of her throat, regretting ever speaking to that stupid Gajeel who seemed to have ruined her whole day. She decided changing into her pajamas would be the first thing to do before she ended up rumpling the clothes she was wearing and having to end up ironing them. Having a lounge in night with a book didn't sound too bad either, as she probably would have ended up doing it anyways, Gajeel or not. As she started to get up from the bed, she heard a high pitched, long squeak and felt a pain in her stomach. _And I haven't eaten since I was chatting with Lucy either_. She sighed and walked on over to her tiny, unkempt dresser in front of the bed where she kept all of her sleepwear. Rummaging through the mess, she changed into her most comfy pink chino shorts and over-sized white t-shirt with a print of sunglasses on it.

Levy's dorm was small, she could cross from the front entrance to her bedroom on the opposite end in about 10 of her longest strides. Upon entering, the right side had a kitchen area complete with oven and fridge, along with scant cabinet space. The left side would have been her living room but she used up most of the space with bookshelves taller than two of her, with a ratty looking sofa and banged up coffee table that Lucy gave to her hanging out in the middle. Going forward and up the few steps would lead to a bedroom that was cozy with all it's bookshelves surrounding the smallish bed next to a graciously large window, as well as a connecting bathroom that Levy tried to keep as clean as possible all the time. She tried to decorate the place up with a some plants and paintings here and there, but most just ended up on top of stacks of books or behind them. It was a small place, but for a small girl it was home, and a cozy one at that.

Scratching her back, she mosied over to her small kitchen, stepping over a couple stacks of books on the ground and nearly tripping on a headband. She turned back and looked at what little of her floor she could see, considering cleaning. All the stacks of books she had planned to organize a while ago had been put off on account of all the new books she had gotten. Soon enough, most of the neat stacks had started to fall down with her constantly tripping on them. _I could spend all night cleaning, but... _Another impatient gurgle emerged from her crabby stomach. Shrugging off the thought until her hunger had been satisfied, she turned back toward the fridge and lazily opened it. Levy had always made sure she had a stocked fridge of everything delectable that she would always love to eat, including carrots and peppers and eggs, milk and cucumbers, some chocolate syrup and a jar of pickles. Nothing, however, seemed good to her. _I guess I can go grab a bite outside… _She brightened up at the thought of going to her favorite sandwich pub and enjoying a tall glass of mango smoothie with a nice steamy sandwich. Her stomach agreed even more with the idea and she eagerly turned back to her room to change. As she started stepping over a stack of five books on the origin of can-openers, she heard a sharp, polite knock on her door. Glancing out the window, she saw that darkness had enveloped the city and the moon had started to peek out. _Who could it be at this time?_ she wondered.

Switching her path toward the door, she fumbled with the locks for a bit before swinging it open to reveal a slightly blushing Gajeel standing there nervously. Levy was beyond shocked to see what was behind her door.

"G-Gajeel…" she stuttered, "D-Do you have the r-right house?"

He stood up right, clearing his throat and crossing his arms like he seemed to be doing a lot of lately.

"Of course I do, Shrimp. Ya think I go wandering around knocking on people's doors like a solicitor or something? Jeez, just wondering if you made it home or something…"

Levy just stared at him, unsure of what to do or say about his lame excuse. Gajeel glanced down at what she was wearing.

"So you gonna have a busy night?" he mumbled sarcastically.

Levy glanced down at herself, and suddenly realizing that she looked like a four year-old, gasped and pulled her shirt down to cover more of her.

"N-N-N-O, I mean, YES", she realized she was furiously blushing and she hated it. "I was just going to get dressed and get something to eat at The Stuffed Shingle and maybe have a mango smoothie with it."She mentally face palmed herself. _Next time just tell him what color underwear you're gonna wear tomorrow too before you tell him your whole plans and your unimportant order!_

He shrugged at her and said, "Sound good to me, I'll meet you there."And started walking down the hallway.

"W-Wait!" she called after him, "What does that mean?!"

He turned and looked at her quizzically. Then he grinned, showing his fangs and making her heart sputter and kick.

"Hey, maybe you're right Shrimpy, I'll just wait for you to get changed then I'll 'escort' you there." Levy almost had a heart attack as he barreled in past her and made himself comfortable on her measly couch, making it look ten times smaller when he was on it.

"So Shrimp, you gonna stand in the doorway all night or are we gonna grab a bite and paint this town?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Levy opened her mouth to take a bite of her shrimp sandwich, hyper-aware that two large red eyes were slyly watching her. She rocked back and forth on the uneven stool, as Gajeel had opted for the bar rather than one of the quiet booths she usually like to read at. It was strange, having Gajeel in her apartment, especially sensing his presence on the sofa outside of her bedroom door while she changed her clothes. It made her feel excited… And a little bit nauseous. She had practically no time to choose a nice outfit that would make Gajeel lose the image of her in his mind in her pj's, without trying too hard to make it look like she wanted a better image of herself in his mind. She had decided that a pair of black leggings and an off shoulder long sleeved orange shirt would be kind of flirty, yet not like she was trying to seduce him. Pairing it with matching orange strappy sandals, they were out the door in 5 minutes.

Levy took hold of her tall glass of banana-blueberry smoothie, the one Gajeel suggested she get instead of her usual mango. Despite suggesting it, it seems Gajeel never ordered anything here except a drink, even though he was a regular.

Turning toward the muscular, hulking man, she swung her legs happily saying, "This smoothie is really good Gajeel. Do you want to try some?"

Gajeel, with his face resting in his palm, glanced at her and shook his head, mumbling something about "not enough iron to satisfy him." Levy turned away frowning. He had barely said anything to her when they got to the pub, besides suggesting they sit at the bar and she order a different smoothie. His excitement from her dorm to the walk to the pub had decreased by a lot. Levy was starting to question why he wanted to come with her just to ignore her. The more she thought about it, he had seemed to want to get closer to her after the S-Class trials, yet at the same time he distanced himself. Levy continued frowning into her smoothie.

"Hey", she heard him say. She looked up at him quickly with expectant eyes. "Eat your shrimp sandwich, Shrimp. Gi-hee-hee..."

He laughed heartily into his mug of beer, happy he'd made a joke. Levy sighed, resting her chin in her hand and took a bite out of her sandwich. Knowing it was useless, she offered it up to the iron dragonslayer, hoping he would accept some, not even looking at him feeling she knew his answer.

He glanced at her then at the sandwich, then back at her, and took one end of the sandwich and broke it in two, taking the other half and eating it in one bite. Levy beamed happily, glad they were sharing something.

In her happiness, she got the courage to ask, "So why did you want to come with me here?" she took a bite of the remainder of her sandwich, and after chewing, said, "Did you just want to hang out… Or… I mean you don't really seem to like me as a hang-out type of friend so I'm just confused and such... About the reasons why you'd wanna hang out with me. Where's Lily? Shouldn't you be with him... Not that I don't want you here..."

Levy noticed herself rambling and physically shut her mouth, pressing her lips together before she said anything else stupid. Gajeel took a swig of his beer, swirling the contents of his cup. He seemed to be contemplating his answer.

"I wanted to, erm, say sorry. For the way I… 'Misbehaved'..." he said wickedly with a slight smile, "... Earlier. I pocketed the money instead of looking for scrap-metal. What's one more day, eh, gi-hee… By the way." He turned toward her staring into her eyes. Levy blushed and couldn't break the eye contact, even if she wanted to. "You need to come. With me. Uh, tomorrow." He said awkwardly then looked away.

Levy sat there surprised he had even brought it up. Taken aback by what he said, it took her a few seconds to gather herself and formulate a response.

"Of course I'll come with you." She said and smiled sweetly at him. She touched his arm lightly, and laughed. "I forgive you for everything, Gajeel. You don't ever need to worry about that not happening."

She found herself saying those last words unconsciously but meaning every one of them. He meant too much to her for her to ever let him go. Blushing again, she saw him grinning, showing his gleaming fangs.

He laughed slightly, taking his free hand not holding his beer mug, and ruffled her hair affectionately with it. "Gi-hee, Shrimp, don't turn soft on me, we still need to battle, remember? Besides, who else is gonna hold me back from kicking that guy's ass tomorrow for skipping out on his part of the deal?"

She giggled and slurped up the rest of her smoothie. They sat there quietly for some time, enjoying each other's presence more than awkwardly sitting in silence, like how Levy felt before. Levy found herself thinking that this night wasn't bad after all: the whole day was made comforting thanks to Gajeel.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi again, this is the author! I would just like to really thank everyone who looked at my story, I didn't realize anyone would really look at it and it's so cool to see that people are actually reading stuff that I wrote__. To those of you who also wrote me reviews, you were so sweet and thank you so much for being so nice! (-: I am still a noob at using this website so I'm sorry, I don't know if I can reply to your reviews but really thank you so much you're awesome, as well as those of you who followed! I really appreciate it. I rewrote this chapter like 3 times LOL, the first time Levy ended up being drunk, and I didn't care for that, and the second and third times were just UGH horrible so this is the best I could whip out with my total writer's block, so I'm sorry if it sucks but I tried to make it longer than my previous 2 chapters which I thought I wrote a lot in but ended up being like 2 words. Also, if you noticed, I'm that writer that likes run on sentences, lots of commas, and stuff like that. I'm trying to break up my run on sentences more, but I am so sorry if they bother you and stuff... But yeah that's basically it, here is chapter 4 and again thank you for reading my stupid long notes and also for reading my thing in general! Have a good day! (-:_

Chapter 4

Levy was content to stay together at The Stuffed Shingle with Gajeel for a little longer. They made mild chit-chat, and he occasionally teased her. But she thought it was perfect, hanging out and having a quiet night with Gajeel. She found herself stealing glances at him out of the corner of her eye, wishing she had an excuse to just look at him. She wanted to read him like a book, memorizing his every feature; like the curve of his cheek, the number of studs on his face, his solemn red eyes. She could study him for hours and not get bored, yet just the idea made her blush and turn her cheek away from him in shyness. Curiosity got the better of her again, and Levy found herself stealing a glance at the lean muscles on his scarred and studded arms. She trailed her gaze down to his hand on the counter, and suddenly had a massive urge to play with his fingers, and intertwine her fingers with his. She gulped and looked away again, feeling dumb.

The sounds of chairs screeching on the hard floor jolted her out of her fantasy haze. She turned and looked behind her to see that the last of the remaining customers were leaving, as the pub was sure to close down soon. She didn't want to leave, but she also didn't want to monopolize all of Gajeel's time: she was the one who slept all day, who knew how tired he was bound to be. It was surely around midnight at this time. She turned towards him, putting all her strength into focusing on his eyes rather than allowing her gaze to roam over him.

"We should probably head out soon," she said, "The place is gonna close up in a bit."

"Hmmm?" He looked at her, "Has time really gone by that fast." He mumbled. "Alright, shortie, lets getya home and into those dorky pajamas again."

He stood up from the stool, pushing it back with his might. Stretching his arms over his head, Levy could get a good view of his lean back muscles through his sleeveless black tunic that he was accustomed to wearing. She mentally applauded and stood up as well, ignoring his remark on her stature.

The walk home was short and brief. Levy knew that Gajeel was going to accompany her all the way back to her dorm, and didn't even need to resist it out of politeness, knowing it was futile. She smiled to herself the whole way there, thinking about the wonderful night she had with the guy that could really make her skin crawl then two seconds later make her cheeks red. Gajeel walked her all the way to the steps before the entrance to Fairy Hills, and looked around.

"So, Shrimp, looks like we got another day ahead of us tomorrow." He looked at her, "Meet me in the market at ten am sharp, I know your legs are smaller than us normal people but no buses run from Fairy Hills to the market so you'll have to make do. Gi-hee-hee" He cockily put his hands on his hips and laughed at his own joke, satisfied with it, then turned and waved goodbye. "Enjoy the rest of your night, Small Fry." Another faint "gi-hee" could be heard as he walked away.

Levy sighed happily and ignored the slight blush on her face. She would need to learn how to control that, as it was getting out of control around him. She turned and continued up the steps, whispering "Goodnight, Gajeel." As she made her way to her dorm, giddy for another day with Gajeel in a few hours.

* * *

The sound of the rune spell making a long, loud noise woke Levy up just when she intended it to. She quickly dismissed the spell and jumped out of bed, leaning on the windowsill and opening the window to look at the beautiful morning. The air was fresh and cool, relaxing compared to the heat that was going to last the remainder of the day. She breathed in the air deep into her lungs, before turning away and grabbing her necessary things to take a shower. Despite her extreme lack of sleep, she felt energetic for what the new day held for her. Skipping to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and undressed while she waited for the ancient dorm pipes to bring hot water to her shower. She bathed herself quickly, eager to see a certain dragonslayer again.

After she was out, she skimmed her wardrobe to decide what to wear. She decided on a lavender sundress that Lucy recommended she buy because it complimented her blue locks and her pale complexion. Levy had never worn it before as it was not really her style, but she immediately fell in love with the way the dress showed off her shape in a delicate way. Tying up her hair with a lavender ribbon that she bought in case she ever did wear the dress, she was ready to go, and she still had an hour before she was supposed to meet Gajeel. She didn't want to eat anything in case Gajeel wanted to stop somewhere to get something, so she fought off her rumbling stomach. _Well, I have nothing to do to kill some time. The walk from here to the marketplace is less than 15 minutes. If I get there early, I can rub in his face that my "short" legs made it there before him!_ She smiled at the thought of his face when he saw her there, relaxing and waiting for him to show up. Grabbing a small purse that she hung on her shoulder, she left for the marketplace.

Levy thought that since she was early, she would have time to stop by the Guild and say hello, as it was on the way to the markets. As she approached the Guild Hall, she could hear yelling from the inside, and nothing out of the ordinary. Walking inside, she nearly got killed by a flying chair, hitting the wall just near her. She stared dumbly at the wall, imagining her in it's place, then searched for the source of the ruckus. Natsu and Gray were both butting heads… Seemingly against their will. Erza Scarlet, the requip mage and one of the most powerful members of Fairy Tail, had Natsu and Gray in either of her fists, enclosed on their collars, and was bashing their heads together, spewing fire and rage.

"Next time one of you decides to bring a fight near my strawberry cake and simultaneously burns and freezes it, I will make sure that you are annihilated!" she yelled.

Some of the members chose to ignore the display the three mages were showing, while others watched and cheered on Erza, save for Happy who tried to save Natsu from unconsciousness. Levy spotted Lucy, one of the members ignoring the fight, sitting at a table with Wendy and Carla. She went over to the table, waving at the group.

"Levy! Hey! Did you finally manage to finish that book and come out of your cave?" Lucy smiled at her friend.

"No, I've had business to take care of …" Levy said bashfully. "I'll tell you about it later. What's happening over there?" She gestured to Erza standing atop a pile of Natsu and Gray's unconscious bodies with one foot on them and two hands on her hips, like a conqueror who saved a nation.

"Oh, well, it seems that the last thing that someone should mess with in regards to Erza is her cake." Wendy said, laughing nervously. "Ooh, Levy, you look wonderful! That's a beautiful dress." Wendy said with a smile.

"Didn't I tell you it would make you look drop dead hot!" Lucy said matter-of-factly with her finger up.

"Thanks, guys!" Levy giggled. "Speaking of which, what time is it?" she asked.

"It seems to be about 9:57," Carla told her.

"Why? Do you have a hot date?" Lucy leaned over toward Levy and nudged her, winking and making kissing sounds.

"Oh no! I have to go!" Levy said running out as fast as she could. "Bye guys!"

_He said not to be late, he said not to be late, what if he goes in without me, what if I don't make it there, how am I gonna rub it in his face that I'm here before him when I'm clearly nooooot!_ Levy ran over to the markets, searching for an impatient Gajeel. She found him leaning against a wall near a mango stand, and ran over to him.

"I'm sorry… I was… At the Guild… And Erza… And then Lucy… With my dress..." she said in between pants. Gajeel looked at her, amused, then started laughing.

"Gi-hee-hee, what did I tell ya, Squirt, I knew you'd have to run here to make it on time, gi-hee-hee-hee!"

"Be… Quiet…" Levy said, still short of breath. She had never sprinted that fast in her life, save for when she was at the S-Class Trials and Gajeel told her to run. Still laughing, Gajeel pushed himself off the wall and started walking toward the blacksmith's tent, tugging Levy by her arm to help her keep up.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi again guys! So chapter 4 was a MESS. I re-read it to edit it and let me tell you, whooh, I facepalmed alot. I changed some parts of it to make it flow better, but nothing really was added. I noticed I put Lucy sitting at a table with Wendy and Carla, and I didn't give them any dialogue which just made it really weird so I fixed that and changed some syntax/grammar errors._

_Sorry I haven't uploaded much, I was hoping to upload a chapter every one or two days but I've had major writer's block and oh well. This chapter was a pain to kick out, so what you're reading is basically an edited version of me bashing my head against the keyboard in an attempt to assemble some thought process and failing. Thank you guys again for all the support and love I'm getting, and after this upload, I'm gonna go learn how to reply to reviews. I re-read this chapter after I wrote it to make sure it wasn't as messy as 4 so yeah hopefully you don't go blind from this one. I know my story is moving really damn slow and I can't seem to find a way around that so I'm sorry about that too! But that's all... Bye, have a great day! (-:_

**Chapter 5**

At the markets, Levy followed Gajeel behind closely, as it was too crowded to walk right beside him. Eventually they found their way to the blacksmith's tent. Before Gajeel walked in, Levy grabbed his arm. He turned and faced her with a raised eyebrow.

"I just want to make sure that I do the talking this time, okay? We don't want you to give the guy a heart attack at the sound of your voice." She joked mildly with a soft smile.

"Tch, I ain't even gonna touch the guy. And hey, what's all that about a 'heart attack'! My voice ain't that terrifying, you've heard my singing." Gajeel scowled down at her.

"Lets get inside…" Levy said quickly, turning toward the tent, and trying to change the subject from his questionable musical career.

Inside the tent, there was a young man working on polishing a piece of what appeared to be the hilt of a sword. He was of average build and had dark brown hair, matted with sweat from the heat. His scruffy beard suggested he was in his mid-twenties, yet his eyes seemed to show more maturity for his years. He wore a dirty apron with black pants and a white shirt.

"May I help you two?" He asked politely, eyeing Gajeel warily and putting down his work.

"Yes, we spoke with an older gentleman smith yesterday about a certain arrangement he had come to terms with in regards to my partner here." Levy said, pulling out her knowledge from some legal speech books she had read a while back. She thought it sounded appropriate for their circumstances. "It seems that the said smith didn't have the necessary end of the bargain that he was promised to give to my partner, even though my partner came with the exact payment."

"Oh, you must mean Balimund. I'm his apprentice, Nikolas. He told me someone would come by asking about some iron ingots he was supposed to supply, and to give them a message."

"What, the old guy ain't even here?" Gajeel spat. "He said he would have my damn metal by today, like hell I'm gonna go home with just a lousy goddamned message!" Gajeel turned his fist into iron, a reaction to his anger.

"Hey, Gajeel, cool it." Levy said confidently. "Let's hear out the message then you decide to make your call on whether or not we should find this Smith. He isn't here, right?" Levy asked, turning back toward Nikolas. Gajeel silently obeyed; the only indication of his former rage was his scowl and a vein popping off his forehead as he crossed his arms and listened to the apprentice.

"No, he isn't." He replied with a frown. "It seems he had more important matters to deal with and couldn't stick around. That's all the information he gave me…" Nikolas said, seemingly a bit offended he was kept in the dark on his master's whereabouts.

Levy furrowed her brow, wondering why the Smith would have left when he told them to come back tomorrow for Gajeel's metal shipment. It had to have been really important, the way he was shaking in his boots when Gajeel was near him. Levy knew she wouldn't have had the guts to leave an even more angry Gajeel behind on top of not having any metal, she probably wouldn't have ever come back.

"About this message," Levy inquired. "May we have it?"

"Sure," replied the apprentice, "But it may not give you any of information you're looking for." He added, walking over to a small personal bag sitting on the chair closest to him. He pulled out a sheet of paper, looking worn from being in the bag. He walked over to Levy, cautious of the angry metal man standing behind her. Handing over the message he walked back over to the hilt he was polishing and continued his work, leaving the small mage and the dragonslayer with the message.

Levy turned toward Gajeel and together they examined what was written on the sheet. It read:

_Fairy Tail Members **Gajeel Redfox** and **Levy Mcgarden**, _

_The South Magnolia Smithing business is asking for your services_

_Reward: **700,000 jewel** as well as **500 pounds** of iron ingots_

_Job: Investigate the missing shipment boxes involved with the South Magnolia Smithing Business, and locate the culprits and end their game. Your reward will be provided by Balimund and/or Nikolas in the Magnolia Marketplace smithing tent after the job is completed._

Gajeel grabbed the message from Levy's hands and re-read it. He lowered the message and smiled, his eyes darkened.

"Let me get this straight, these chumps want me to help them with their mess even though I'm the one of the people losing out on their responsibilities. I have to work to get myself some iron now…" Levy regarded him with concern, afraid he might tear up the tent in anger. He chuckled, then punched his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Lets go kick some ass." he said, then turned and walked out of the tent.

Levy followed him out and shielded her eyes from the brightness of the sun. After her eyes adjusted, she found Gajeel wandering a few feet away in the direction of the ocean, sniffing the air.

"Gajeel, wait up!" She called, running out to him. Catching up to him, she asked "Are we going to actually go ahead and do this mission?" She peered up at him, as he continued moving and sniffing the air.

"Course we are, Shrimp, I gotta teach the slimy bastards stealing my metal a lesson, and you read the flyer. Your name is as much on this thing as mine so you're in this with me. Right?" He stopped and turned down to look at her. Levy found herself wishing that she could talk more about the mission so they would have more facts as to what they were going up against instead of diving right in, but she knew she couldn't back down now, while she was already all in.

She smiled and nodded at him. "Right."

Gajeel smirked and continued down his path. "Gi-hee-hee, besides, we're 'partners' after all." Levy squeaked and fell a few paces back as he quoted how she had referred to their relationship earlier in the tent.

"I-I-I meant business partners you know..." She stammered, embarrassed he had noticed that. Deciding to change the subject, Levy jogged to keep up with him, taking the flyer from his hand and reading it. "Why do you think they only included us in the mission instead of posting it up on the job board?" Levy asked.

"Beats me, we'll probably find out along the way." Gajeel replied absently, still sniffing.

"Who do you think is stealing the merchandise; maybe a rival business? If not, what other motives could there be as to why people are stealing smithing materials...?"

"Mmm-hmm," Gajeel said, ignoring her and focusing on his scent. They had ended up along the beach and were approaching some docks and a pier. After some silence, Levy's eye started twitching in annoyance.

"Gajeel! What are you even smelling!" Levy remarked, becoming impatient with his nose. He stopped and turned to face her.

"Back in ol' Smithy's tent, I noticed a bunch of different smells. There was the apprentice guy that smelled like sweat and cheese, then that good smell coming from you that's like pears and flowers. Then a couple other scents that smelled fishy."

Levy blushed at the thought that he could smell her shampoo and identify the scent of it pretty well, pear-hibiscus. Brushing away the thought, she redirected her interest in the last thing he mentioned.

"Fishy... As in suspicious?" She asked.

"Nah, Shrimp, fishy like fish. As in the ocean." He nodded his head to his right where they could see the ocean. "I've been following the scent trail here, it's probably a day old by now so once it ends we'll have to put our heads together and figure out where it leads." He said, turning to continue smelling the air.

Levy smiled, happy she had him on the mission with her. She never would have been able to get this far with just herself, although it was him who brought her here in the first place. They followed the scent trail for about another quarter of a mile before they arrived at a boating dock. There were a couple of boats floating nearby, but most of the area seemed to be empty.

"Here's where it ends." Gajeel said, staring out into the ocean.

The bright blue waters seemed so peaceful, the waves gently rocking the boats. Levy furrowed her brow and looked around, shielding the sun from her eyes with her hand, and found an older man dressed in what seemed to be sailor clothes fixing a sail on one of the boats. She ran towards him, hearing Gajeel's confused "Hmm?' as he turned to follow her. The man looked up when he saw them approaching and stood up from his crouching position. He looked at them curiously.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you know when the last South Magnolia Smithing boat left?" Levy inquired.

The man shook his head, "Probably around four or five days ago. They should be returning within tomorrow though, judging by how long they've been gone."

"Do you know where they went to?" Levy asked eagerly, glad they had picked up on a lead.

"No, no, that boat's not in my league. You would have to wait for it to come back and ask the crew." He replied, obviously done with the conversation as he continued with his work.

Levy faced Gajeel, the ocean breeze making her dress sway. "It looks like this is where the trail ends."

Gajeel stood there for a moment, pondering what to do next, with his arms crossed and one hand on his face.

"We go home and we pack." He finally said. "Tomorrow, meet me here at dusk and we'll interrogate the ship crew together. And pack light, we'll probably end up taking their boat. Gi-hee." He smiled darkly.

"What do you mean taking the boat, where are we going?" Levy exclaimed, not anticipating leaving the city.

"Look here, Shortie, these goons are not gonna be getting robbed right here on the dock, it's gonna be in either two locations: in the middle of the route, or destination B. We're gonna have to be on the next boat out to find out where the robberies are happening and hopefully pummel the guys doing it so I can get my stupid iron." Gajeel squinted out into the ocean as if the Smithing ship was going to suddenly appear.

Levy sighed, knowing he was right. "Okay, I'll go home and pack my stuff… Gajeel?" She looked up at him shyly.

"Hmm?"

"I'm nervous… We don't even know who we're up against." She mumbled.

"Gi-hee," He laughed and ruffled her hair, causing her headband to go crooked. "No worries, Shrimp, I won't leave your side."

She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance partially at him laughing at her and messing up her hair, but mostly because she couldn't hide her blush for the millionth time around him.

"Fine," she said, clenching her fists at both her sides and pouting up at him. "But just so you know, I'm gonna show you how much stronger I've become after Tenrou Island after we finally meet who we're up against!"

Gajeel laughed heartily, showing his fangs, enjoying her fiery attitude. "No problem, Shrimp, hey, maybe you'll be strong enough to get a hit on me too!" He mocked.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so under-dramatic Gajeel, I nearly knocked you out with my bag before, you're not as strong as you think." She said laughing at his shocked and angry face and running from him knowing he was bound to get pissed off.

"Hey!" He said and began chasing her, "I wasn't even expecting that to happen, else I'd totally have dodged it! It was a cheap shot and you know it!" He yelled running after her.

Levy laughed at him and continued running, retorting back with "Your excuses are as cute as your dance moves, Gajeel!"


	6. Chapter 6

_So, first of all, I would like to sincerely **apologize **for not uploading in a whole week. The days just kept going by, especially since school has been kicking my ass. Let me tell you that college sucks, I haven't ever had this much trouble from a school before. Then I had to cover two extra shifts for people at work and that just ate up my time as well. I wanted to upload this Friday night (last night) but every time I tried to go to my profile I got a "503 Service Unavailable" message which pissed me off. So here it is today! (-: I named the ship Gale (like the wind) for like a little secret because GaLe is our ship hahahaha so fun. I don't really like my story, personally, LOL if I came across this on the internet I don't think I'd finish readung it but I'm going to sure as sugar continue writing it. The plot is kind of starting to take off and the romance is still pretty fricking kindergarten but whatever that's how my brain is making it work. Oh and also, I have a pretty busy week next week as in starting this Monday two days from now, so I'm so sorry if I wont have time to upload again for a while. I'm going to try to write and upload Chapter 7 tomorrow but no promises. Other than that, here is the really lame chapter 6! I also always want to thank you guys for viewing, reviewing, and all that jazz because all of you are so sweet and I want to send you all gift cards to your favorite place so yeah thanks! Have a good day! (-:_

Chapter 6

Later that day, Gajeel and Levy arrived at the guild with sweat adorning both their brows. The sun was setting behind them when they walked in through the doors, heading straight for the bar to refresh themselves from the unrelenting summer heat that lasted all day. The guild seemed to be unusually quiet for once. Levy looked around to find that Team Natsu was not present, probably on a mission. Collapsing on the bar stool next to Gajeel, Levy folded her arms on the table and rested her chin on them, reflecting on the whole day. She had failed to get away from Gajeel chasing her earlier in the day, which ended up with her being picked up like a football underneath his arm and carried into the ocean for a nice dunk. Gajeel had his fill of "gi-hee-hee's" until she made a solid script spell of "ice" that he ended up slipping on making him fall head first into the water, drenching her even more. After that, they grabbed some lunch at a nearby shop, choosing to sit at a table outside so the sun could help dry them off. The whole time Gajeel grumbled about spinach not meaning "the most iron enriched food they had on the menu", all the while finishing his whole platter as well as picking off of Levy's plate. After lunch, they headed to the marketplace to browse the various fruits, vegetables, novelties, and trinkets that were on display. Gajeel was unamused by most of what was there, mainly following Levy as she stopped at every stand there was, and humoring her when she pointed out something she liked. Their shenanigans in the sun lasted most of the day, until they finally arrived at the guild for a cool down.

Mirajane, an S-Class Wizard also known as "The Demon" or "She-Devil" when her full magic potential was unlocked, approached them with her otherwise warm smile.  
"Well good afternoon, you two, it seems you had quite a day." she said, sliding Levy a glass of mango juice and plunking a mug of frothy, cool beer in front of Gajeel. Both eagerly gulped down the cool liquid, glad to have a relief of the sweltering heat outside. Levy personally didn't mind the heat, however winter was her most unfavorable time of the year. Sometimes the snow in Magnolia would come up to her hips, which generally posed a problem for her small self.

Setting down her glass, she smiled at Gajeel. "Yeah, Gajeel and I had a full day today. My favorite part was when one of the stand owners in the marketplace tried to force Gajeel to buy his magic love potion with his 'persuasion' found by taking a persuasion potion." Levy giggled, remembering the man's shocked face when Gajeel snapped at him.

Gajeel merely regarded her with an eye roll, his mug still raised to his face as he now continually sipped from it. Mirajane and Levy both giggled at him.

"Oh, Mira," Levy said, "Since I have you here, I need to tell you about a job Gajeel and I are going to do." She pulled out the flyer from her small bag and handed it to Mirajane.

"Hmm," the white-haired mage said as she looked it over, "Okay, looks good to me. It's usually strange to have a flyer addressed to only certain members of the Guild, but other than that it all checks out." Mirajane said handing back the flyer.

Levy nodded her thanks and finished off the rest of her mango juice, setting down the glass with a satisfied look. Suddenly feeling the effects of no sleep and a full day, she stretched and yawned.

"Well, I better get home and pack for our mission. Are you going to stay here, Gajeel?" the small mage asked.

"C'mon, Shrimp, the day's still young; we still have time to go back to markets and buy that headband you were looking at." Gajeel said lightheartedly.

"Nope," she yawned again, "I'm beat. Plus you were the one looking at that headband Gajeel. And besides, I only slept for a few hours last night so it's probably best that I get to bed early before our big day tomorrow." Levy said sleepily. She registered the last few words she said, realizing that "big day" sounded an awful lot like "wedding day". Ignoring it, she shook her head to clear the thought.

"Alright, alright, you square. You need me to walk you home?" Gajeel said, standing from his stool and downing the rest of his beer.

"No, I think I'll be okay. It's not far. Bye Mira - Hmm?" Levy looked around to find that Mira wasn't at the bar anymore, most likely a result of boredom from her conversation with Gajeel. She turned back to Gajeel who was looking at her with a smirk.

"Alright then, bye, Gajeel. Thanks for today, it was fun." she said smiling. She stood there for a moment in silence before she quickly stepped toward him and wrapped both her arms around his torso, hugging him tight and fast. Pulling away, she glanced up at his slightly blushing and surprised face, before turning and running, yelling a "Goodnight!" behind her as she went.

_Oh my god! What was that! I didn't even know what I was doing, it all just happened so fast! _She furiously blushed as she ran out of the guild, happy he wasn't there to see it for once. After she was a safe distance from the guild, she turned a corner and leaned against a wall of a fishing supply store. She could still feel his hard muscles against her body, and felt warm where her breasts and his stomach had touched. Taking a moment to collect herself, she stood there for a few minutes, waiting for her fast beating heart to slow down. _Maybe he was drunk and thought it was just a drunk vision thing…_ She tried to reason. _Yeah, because one mug of beer is going to get him wasted, dummy... _Looking up at the sky, the sunset was beginning to lower completely, letting the darkness loose. The sky was various shades of dark and light blue, as well as some orange and pink. _I should get home…_ The bluenette sighed, and turned in the direction of Fairy Hills.

Eventually she reached her dorm, closing the door behind her and leaning her head against it. She tiredly dropped her purse on the floor and pulled her dress up over her head tossing it on the couch. The motion pulled of her headband as well, revealing her body only clad in her mismatched black panties and pink bra. She dragged her feet the whole way to her room stretching and scratching her back. Going to her bed, she picked up her pajama top from the bed cover where she had excitedly thrown it this morning and snuggled into it. Shuffling over to the window, she moved to close the curtains, when she realized that there was movement in the top left corner, quickly shifting away as she noticed it. It almost looked like an arm. She quickly opened the window and poked her head out, looking up… And seeing nothing. _Great now you're hallucinating! _she thought to herself. She pulled herself back inside and made no effort to brush her hair or her teeth as she usually would have. Too tired to pack, she collapsed on the bed, ultimately forgetting to close the curtains on the window.

* * *

Levy woke the next day to the sound of a pounding on her door. She woke up with a snort, confused as to where she was. Jumping out of bed, she tripped on a stack of books and fell down with a squeal. Whoever was trying to break down her door with their inconsiderate knocking must have heard her fall, because it stopped. She got up with a groan and stumbled over to the door, tripping on her purse from where she dropped it last night causing her to hit her head against the door with a thud. She grumbled as she unlocked the door, thinking she must have sounded a lot like Gajeel. Opening the door, the first thing that came to her mind was "speak of the devil". Standing there with an eyebrow raised, Gajeel crossed his arms when he saw her and frowned.

"You look like you had a nice night, Shrimp." he said as he ruffled her hair to the side to help get it out of her face.

"Well it would have been longer if you weren't pounding on my door during the whole part of it." She said grumpily.

Gajeel smirked at her mood, amused at her unusually angry demeanor.

"Did you pack for today? We'll be leaving for the docks soon." He said, still smirking at her.

Levy immediately woke up hearing that and jolted back to her room, leaving Gajeel standing in the doorway. He shrugged and let himself in, closing the door behind him and settling in on the couch again.

Levy darted around her room throwing things on her bed occasionally and mumbling phrases. She normally would have spent all night carefully planning out what she did and didn't need but since she passed out, she needed to do it four times faster. The sound of her falling again made Gajeel get up with a sigh and lean against the frame of her bedroom door, watching her with a frown as she ran around. She was so haphazard that she seemed to be unaware of everything else around her. As she neared passing by him on the way to her closet, he grabbed her by the back of her shirt to stop her and picked her up. She puffed out her cheeks in clear annoyance but had no other reaction as he set her down on a corner of the bed that wasn't covered in books, clothes, and other miscellaneous items she wanted to pack. He searched through her belongings, as she watched with her arms folded.

"Okay, Shrimp, you really gonna to need a book on mythical sea monsters out there? Remember 'pack light', Small Fry." He said tossing the book aside.

"Hey!", she yelled trying to grab a book on seafood cuisine that he was trying to toss next, but failing as he held it too high for her to reach. He ignored her and continued to sift through her pile. "Gajeel, you don't see me tossing your stuff away, so don't toss the books that I need... Gajeel!" she whined.

"Gi-hee, listen, Shrimp, the only things I'm bringin' are enough iron to last me our trip, and the clothes on my back. And the only thing I'll let you toss is the latter. Gi-hee-hee."

Levy squeaked and stopped fighting at the mention of his innuendo, blushing and glaring up at him.

"Fine…" she mumbled, "I'll pack lighter." She shuffled through her items on the bed as Gajeel, laughed and ruffled her hair, leaving her room to get comfortable on the couch again.

Before he left the room, he turned and said with a smirk, "Ya' know, Shortie, I don't like to wear pants as much as the next guy, but ya' might want to consider covering up them nice undies when we're on a ship full of seamen." He laughed and left, returning to the couch, unaware of her muffled gasp as she pulled a pillow to her face to hide.

* * *

Half an hour later and a half a bag emptier than Levy had anticipated, they had set off in the direction of the docks again. Still slightly blushing that Gajeel had practically seen her naked on top of last night's hug, Levy was starting to believe that holding back her feelings for Gajeel during the trip was going to get progressively harder. There was no mistake that she had somehow fallen hardfor him, but the thought of telling him made her shiver in embarrassment. _He'd just laugh and say something like _"Get in line with the rest, Shrimp!"_ and then it wouldn't be the same with him anymore_ she thought. She was content to have him at her side like this, and didn't want to mess anything up. She smiled to herself as he led the way through town to get to the docks. Eventually, by midday they had reached the docks. Levy searched around for a new ship, spotting one entirely made of metal called _The Gale._ They approached the ship, searching for any crew, and found a man who appeared to be the Captain of the ship speaking with a crew member along the walkway.

"Excuse me, sir?" Levy said as they reached him, "Are you the Captain of _The Gale_?"

The Captain regarded her with curiosity, raising his bushy grey eyebrow, as she probably didn't look like someone who would know anything about smithing or sailing. Her bright orange dress reaching a little above her knee with flared sleeves and skirt made her look more like she belonged on a soda bottle.

"Yes, young lady, how can I assist you and your friend here?" He said, stroking his bushy beard.

"We're members of Fairy Tail, and we were sent on a job to track and resolve the issue of the missing cargo being taken from your ship." Levy said, pulling out the job message they had received yesterday and handing it over to the older man.

"Hmm, well, yes, so it does look that way. And how do you expect to be assisting us?" He asked, handing back the sheet of paper and stroking his beard again.

"Well, we were hoping you could take us aboard your ship so we can locate the culprits and -" Levy was interrupted by his laughing

"Look here, young miss, I have just sailed back from bringing back whatever cargo is left on this ship after finding out that most of my crew decided to desert this boat because of the misfortune that has seemed to befallen it. I'm sorry but you'll have to think of another way to help our company, because this ship is not going to sail for a while." He started to turn away before the sound of Gajeel's snarl made him stop.

"Listen here, Salty, first off, you _don't_ talk to my partner like that." he growled, "Second, you're gonna scramble up whatever measly damn crew you can scrape up from this town and take us to whatever hellhole is damning you _today,_ before I commandeer this ship from you and bring it back in not so pleasant condition. When are we leaving?" He didn't break eye contact with the Captain during each and every word, making his point get across.

The Captain finally sighed, "Give me a few minutes, I'll round up the boys." he said before sauntering up the ship.

Levy beamed up at Gajeel, laughing slightly. "I guess your 'macho' does come in handy sometimes, Gajeel." she turned back in the direction the Captain went. "He seems kind of suspicious…" She mumbled.

"Tch, so much for not having a crew, it seems like he has enough up there to keep the stick in his ass company and still have more than plenty leftover." Gajeel sneered.

Levy couldn't control her giggles as the Captain came back down, announcing his agreement to depart.


	7. Chapter 7

_Hahahahahaha... This chapter sucks and I'm uploading it from work... I'll fix syntax errors later! Slight makeout scene ahead... Sorry for the tease (if its even good enough to be called that) btw... (-: I am a horrible human being. _

_Also - many much very such so many apologies for being EXTREMELY inactive... I know a lot of authors do that, but I've been super super busy with both my jobs. I was hoping that once school ended I would have had the summer to work on this, but ce la vie. This is all I have so far, save for some minor fixes I've made to the previous chapters which I haven't changed yet over here. I wouldn't expect another chapter to come out soon, but know that I will continue working on this damned story forever - even when I'm done with it. Anyways - to all of you who are sticking around and favoriting and being super cool, I LOVE YOU! To everyone else, I LOVE YOU. Again, many apologies if this is rocky as hell, I've been fixing it at my cubicle at work instead of doing real work (whoops). Have a great time reading this garbage!  
_

_Update from two seconds later - WHOA Jesus that is a huge paragraph I'm sorry! I'll fix it later!_

Around an hour later, Gajeel and Levy had sailed out to the open sea. The bright blue skies with little wisps of clouds hanging around seemed to forecast smooth sailing for their journey. The sun was merciful near the ocean as the cool water helped alleviate the otherwise sweltering heat. Gajeel and Levy had boarded the ship with a few grumbles from the captain, but otherwise found no trouble from the other crew, save for a few glares that were short lasting in case Gajeel met eyes with the owners of the malicious stares.

While on deck, Levy suddenly wondered if Gajeel had the same motion sickness that Natsu seemed to show off all the time, but after looking at him it seemed the slow, steady rocking of the boat had little to no effect on him. The captain had left them on deck without another word as he went inside the ship.

"So... Do you think we should have a look around?" Levy asked as she furrowed her brow.

"Tch, this ships gonna be our house for who knows how long, so we might as well know it like a home." Gajeel muttered before starting toward the door that lead into the ship.

The ship was fairly large, the metal creaking as the ocean rocked it. The sound of Gajeel's steps reverberated throughout the ship while Levy's light treading was barely noticeable. They reached the door to the stairs leading inside just as the Captain threw it open, nearly knocking Levy out before Gajeel caught the door with his quick reflexes, saving her from a small concussion.  
"Ehrm," was his apology. He cleared his throat, muttering, "I'll show you two to your quarters now." And turned around to head back inside and down the wooden steps.

Gajeel nodded to Levy indicating her to go first, so she ducked underneath his arm that was still holding the door open; hearing the door shut behind her as Gajeel followed behind. They made their way down a few flights of stairs before getting to a hallway that was darkly lit with lanterns that barely exposed the surface of the wood that the ship was made of. There were doors on either side of the hallway all the way to the end, which had one door facing towards them: a total of nine. Each door had a little round window that seemed to ruin any consolation of privacy. Some of the doors had a dim light illuminating from within, while the others remained dark.

"This is where the crew stays. Each room is fit for one crew member, and since I have a full deck, you'll have to share." the Captain said. "Right along the end there is the dining quarters and kitchen where you'll have to get the grub before it's gone." He nodded to the door at the end of the hallway, "Breakfast is served at sunrise, while lunch or dinner hours change depending on our day. I'll show you to the room you'll stay in." the Captain said, seemingly trying his hardest to be as polite and curt as possible so he wouldn't get Gajeel upset again.

He walked over to the first door on the right and opened it. Inside there was a single bed, a wooden chair, and a small dresser. Levy immediately squeaked, her face going pale. _One bed…?_ She thought to herself. The room was small enough as it was, but with Gajeel inside it seemed to decrease in size... As everything did when Gajeel was around.

"Something the matter, Ms. McGarden?" the Captain said with his eyebrow raised.  
"No," Gajeel answered for her after she didn't, glancing at her as she remained stone silent. "Room's fine. Do we need to know anything else?" He said crossing his arms.

The Captain pressed his lips together in a line, and narrowed his eyes at Gajeel. "Being as it's the first day, we'll be having lunch shortly. Wait for dinner to be announced when the horn rings. You two better find what you're looking for soon." with that note, he walked off toward the dining area.

Levy leaned her back against the wall facing the bed inside the room, still dumbfounded that they would both have to sleep in the same small bed. _What if he sleeps naked? What if I cuddle him in my sleep? How am I going to hide my feelings for this goon now!?_ The thoughts were racing through Levy's head as she tried to process her current dilemma.

Gajeel attention went down to the small mage as he noticed the vein pop out in her forehead and her slight eyebrow twitch. "Oi, earth to Shrimp, hey!" Gajeel said waving his hand in her face. He sighed dramatically when she merely looked at him with her twitch, then continued remaining silent. Running out of ideas, Gajeel braced his hands on the wall on either side of her face and leaned in. There were a few inches of a gap in between their faces.

"Shrimp? Hey!" Gajeel sucked in his breath and blew out a sharp gust of air right into her face. Levy flinched as her eyes focused on Gajeel's peering into hers with his eyebrow raised. A slow blush creeped it's way into her cheeks as she couldn't escape his red-eyed gaze.

"G-G-Gajeel, w-what are you d-doing!?" She gasped out unable to move due to their close proximity.

He frowned. "What do you mean 'What am I doing'? What are you doing, Shrimp? You've been dead silent this whole time. I needed to snap ya' out of your damned coma."

"I-I just, I was surprised by the bed is all…" Levy mumbled, her eyes focusing on his lean neck as she was too shy to meet his confused gaze. She could practically feel the heat radiating off of his body and could smell his strange musky scent.

"We'll figure that out, eventually, Shorty, right now we gotta stay focused and on our toes. 'Sides, the bed's not so bad: there'll be plenty of space for the two of us, and if ya' get uncomfortable, I'll sleep on the floor. Right now we gotta explore this damned boat. You with me?" Gajeel, still a few inches away from her face, ruffled her hair and pushed himself off the wall. He dropped his pack on the ground and opened the door, indicating for her to follow him with a jerk of his head and a grin. _This is going to be a long mission…_ Levy glumly thought to herself as she dropped her pack with a sigh and followed him out the door.

Gajeel led the way, going to every one of the crew's doors and examining what was behind it. A lot of the cabins were empty: leading Levy silently wondering why the Captain would want Gajeel and her crammed into the small room - other than the fact that he wanted them to be as uncomfortable as possible. The sound of voices echoed through the door at the far end of the hall; the dining room. Gajeel absent-mindedly took Levy's hand as they went down the hall, mumbling "Stay close" to her as they carefully walked with him leading the way. She didn't even think anything of the gesture: the Gale made her nervous. She didn't like the fact that the captain or the crew didn't welcome Gajeel or her on the boat when they were trying to help the company's situation.

Gajeel went through the door to the dining hall first, still holding firmly onto Levy's hand, slightly guarding her with his arm. The room was dim, lanterns being the most favorable use of lighting in the ship. The red glow from the lanterns made the room have an unwelcome feel to it. There was a counter with some alcohol behind it and a stove, which the crew used as a kitchen. High wooden beams kept the room supported in the ship, making the tables organized in an odd fashion in order to fit around the beams. The six crew members sitting at one of the three table all stopped talking when the duo entered the room. Gajeel met all of their distasteful gazes, leading Levy to a table furthest away from the group of men. Her back was to them, but she could still feel their eyes on the pair. _I wonder where the Captain is. I swear I saw him go this way..._ She thought with a frown. Looking up at Gajeel, she saw that his posture was threatening and he didn't take his eyes off the crew. "I don't like this, Gajeel." Levy murmured under her breath, knowing his dragon hearing would pick it up. "I don't like it either, Shrimp. These guys are smelling pretty close to the fishy smell I caught before. They were in that blacksmith tent."

Levy shuddered slightly. They were in a dangerous position. If the crew attacked or provoked Gajeel, there were two possible scenarios: the ship would get destroyed from Gajeel's magic power, or, if Gajeel was careful and the ship remained intact, they would have no one to sail the ship, and considering Gajeel threw her boating book out of her bag, neither of them had any knowledge of sailing. Her thoughts were interrupted by one of the crew members loudly talking with the others.

"Ye' know, I can't say that I like the changes that cap'n made to the ship in recent times. Fer' example, the dull carpeting, the cramped quarters that I hafta' share with the lot of ya', and some of our guests we've been 'aving in recent times." Another crew member piped in with obnoxious laughter.

"Aye, maybe we should keel' haul the couple, and blame it on a rogue wave that rocked the ship a bit too hard."

Gajeel rolled his eyes at the group's empty threats, but otherwise showed no other response. They kept going on with their fantasies however, as the first one chimed in again amidst their laughter.

"Wait lads, wait, we can save the little maiden for some fun, eh? She ain't much, but it's ben' awhile since we've 'ad a lady guest on the ship, and us poor men need a sweet relief from all this non-stop sailing." He winked at the others, as Levy felt a hot flash of embarrassment and anger go up her back and cheeks.

She whipped out her solid script pen, ready to kick some butt, but the sound of Gajeel getting up stopped her. She watched as he calmly walked over to the crew's table, and stood by the one who made the last bit about her. To her surprise, he grinned, leaning his arm on the table; his lean muscles glowing in the light of the lanterns.

"What was that, you punk bastard?" Gajeel said, his iron dragon scales slowly crawling up to cover his entire arm.

"You thinkin' about touchin' my girl? Let me get this straight, you're gonna throw me off the boat, take my guildmate here to your quarter's, and have your way with her?" With every word, he took a step around the table as his claws sunk into the wood and left thick scars on the surface. He chuckled darkly. "Do you have any idea who we are? Who I am? What I'm capable of?" With that last question he ripped a hole in the table and crushed the piece of wood in his hand into splinters, then trailed a claw down the first crew member's exposed skin on his neck and leaned down with a sadistic smile. Levy could see how much the man was shaking and sweating. "Do you get the picture? Get the fuck out of my sight."

The crew members quickly got up from the table just in time for Gajeel to bring his leg down on it: smashing it into pieces. The room was emptied seconds after his display. His iron dragon scales retracted back into the studs on his arms, as he looked at Levy sitting there dumbly with her pen in her hand.

Gajeel sighed, rubbing his forehead. "My damn head aches now, let's look at the ship tomorrow. I'm not up for it anymore."

Levy nodded and stood up, tucking away her pen, and followed him back to the room, glancing at the broken table behind her. She hadn't realized how tired she felt too as they walked down the hall back to their room. She wasn't sleepy, it just felt like she had been running a marathon while carrying an elephant on her head. Gajeel opened the door, and lazily checked if anyone had decided to hide in the small space and maybe slit their throats in the night, but there was nowhere for anyone to hide.

As the door shut behind them, there was a moment of silence. All Levy could think of in her state was the way Gajeel defended her, as he always seemed to do. She bit her lip, not wanting to ask what she needed to know, but she couldn't hold back.

"Gajeel…?" He turned to look down at her, eyebrows furrowed questioningly. Levy couldn't hide her slight blush as she twisted a strand of her hair, not having the guts to meet his eyes. "I'm your girl?"

Gajeel sighed, facepalming a little. Levy immediately regretted asking, knowing he just said it to defend her.

"I-I'm not asking to be, I'm just clarifying what you said. I mean why would I ever be your girl, I'm not nearly as strong as you a-and you're so strong-" She was interrupted by Gajeel storming over to her in the small quarters. "Shut up, Levy." he said, pinning her wrists against the wall behind her and kissing her. Shocked to receive the kiss, as it was the last thing that she would have expected to happen, Levy just stood there like a statue in her state of mind. Gajeel kissed her hard, but it was obvious that he was restraining from doing so much more to her. She needed to act fast, so she moved her lips against his slowly. His lips were warm and tasted so good, it was too soon when he pulled away, gasping. He moved his hands to either side of her face as they stood there panting together. "Again." Levy whispered, wanting more of him the way she craved for so long.

This time she leaned in, as he opened her lips with his tongue; their kiss deepened. She could hear Gajeel's low moan in the back of his throat, making her stomach flip and twist. His moan turned into a soft growl as she placed her hands on his chest and felt her whole way over his shoulders and his strong chest. He moved his hands from her face to the back of her thighs, lifting her up so her legs were on either side of him. She squeezed herself against him, moving one hand to the back of his neck and gently tugging at his rough hair. Their tongues were now tangled together, their mouths non-stop. She wrapped her legs around him tighter as he pushed her closer against the wall so his hands could roam over the rest of her body. He pulled away from her mouth to kiss her jaw and run his nose along her neck. She heard him inhale as he reached her collarbone, growling deep as he sucked on her skin. She gasped out, holding his head closer to her as his mouth made her feel wonderful. "Gajeel…" She moaned out. He replied with a low grumble, bringing his lips back to hers and moving over to the bed.

He tripped a little as the surroundings were unfamiliar, but when he made it to the bed, he fell back onto it with her straddling him on top. He moved his hand down to her lower back and pressed her against him, as their lips never left each other. She pulled away from his mouth momentarily, as she left a trail of kisses down his jaw to his neck, and down to his chest as she moved away the offending clothing. Gajeel quickly sat up and removed everything covering his torso in one quick motion, following by lifting up Levy's short orange dress over her body, revealing her white bra and black panties. Tossing both of their clothes to the side, he ran his hands over her stomach and her back, not sure whether or not she was okay with him ravishing her body completely.

She leaned in and kissed him shortly then placed one of his hands on her breast with a small gasp. He could probably feel her heartbeat freaking out under his hand, but she didn't care anymore. She was done being so reserved around him, she wanted all of him. He pulled her face back in for another kiss, moaning a little when she adjusted herself so she was laying down on top of him. He unclasped her bra and pulled down her straps, then removed the whole thing, relishing the feel of her naked body against his. Rolling them over, he didn't break the kiss as he lay on top of her now, bracing his weight against his forearms so he didn't crush her. She fumbled with his pants, trying to get them off with her eyes closed.

Levy jolted awake with a gasp, fully clothed and alone in the bed on the ship. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she tried to get her racing heart and breathing to calm down. Leaning over the side of the bed, she saw Gajeel sprawled on the ground with nothing but a pillow under his head, snoring the night away. His body was fully clothed as well. _Jeez, Levy, next time you have such a vivid dream try not to have it about the guy right next to you who doesn't even know how you feel, so it's not going to be awkward when you two are together!_ she angrily thought to herself. She recalled the events of the night before: the dining room and what the crew said... Gajeel's words and actions remained the same, however, she didn't dare say anything after the entered the room. Gajeel just collapsed on the floor and instantly fell asleep; it looked like he hadn't moved all night. Levy collapsed on her back with a soft thud, hating herself for feeling the way she did.

_Only in my dreams…_


End file.
